WhiteOut
by LostInTheDreams
Summary: Two statements are true about snow. It's white, it's cold, and -if it wished- it could kill. It is also delicate, falling apart with the slightest touch of warmth, intricately detailed the point that no human eye can see. He was like the snow.


I have no idea where this came from. I woke up from a nap and it was snowing like  
crazy outside. The next thing I knew, I was at my computer, typing this out.

I have had no beta reader for my story, so this was done by me. If there are  
any terrible mistakes, please send me a private message about them.

Thank you ^^

Ah, yes, this is also a One-Shot. I left room for it to be continued, but I am not.  
It is still complete as a story, but I have too many projects that I'm working on  
and I think this stands better by itself

* * *

**WHITEOUT**

The snow was coming down harder than Aoko had ever seen it. Japan wasn't one to get lots of snow on any occasion, and these fits of white that were blasting at the side of her house had her scared. It was almost unnatural how angry the weather seemed. Yes... it was the weather making her uneasy, nothing more.

Aoko glanced at the clock. Kid's heist had been over for a good hour now. Her father would be sitting at the office, or still on site, swearing and trying to get his mind around how the thief had foiled him. She found herself wishing more and more though, that the reason her father had yet to call her was because he had caught the stupid thief. With the weather taking a sudden turn at becoming one of the worse storms that had ever hit Tokyo, there was a chance Kid hadn't had the preparations to take on the new obstacle.

Yes, those happy thoughts were nice as she sat at the kitchen table, playing with her uneaten food, while the wind buffeted the house like angry thunder.

The door slammed open with the force of the wind and she heard the panting sounds of someone who was obviously out of breath. As her footsteps took her to the front door to see her father, the noises became more and more foreign, and it was less of a welcoming trip and more of need to sooth her curiosity as to who had just barged into her house without even knocking.

White flurries had settle around the carpet in the living room, some still falling from the figure leaning against the door, covered in the soft fluff of the snow that added a velvety feeling to his costume.

"Kid!"

Before she could move, a cold hand was placed on her mouth and Kid danced with her until she was pinned against the wall. While she still had the motions of her arms, she blindingly struck out at him, feeling her catch the side of his face with the back of her hand. The soft thud of something landing on the floor barely registered as she continued to fend him off.

"Please Nakamori-chan, I'm not here to fight you. A few minutes, that's all I ask. I know that's requesting a lot from you, but I must ask it."

She hit him again, as hard as she could, aiming for his face. He backed away, turning his head to the side and causing the snow to fall onto her arm. She shivered, moving to his wrist and trying to pry him off. She'd deal with the fact that Kid just broke into her house after she got him off of her.

One of her hands had pushed his sleeve down and exposed his skin. Aoko had thought she was touching the cold, snow ladened material before she noticed that she wasn't. The hand holding her was shaking, though it was hard for her to tell. Kid seemed to be resisting the urge to make any movement. He didn't even try to stop her from hitting him.

"Please," Aoko heard him ask, more quietly and with a pant of breath escaping before and after the plea. "Just a - few minutes."

He removed his hand from her mouth, going back over to the door and picking something up off the floor as he went. Aoko watched the black charm dangle in the air before the monocle it was attached to was put back in place. Kid tipped his hat down, sitting on the other side of the door he'd come in, most-likely chilling himself more, since the floor there was now damp.

Aoko didn't know what to do. She'd never seen Kid up close before, and now that she had, it was hard to imagine that this man was the dangerous criminal that the news often spoke of, charm just as black as his heart.

It was a trick, and Aoko didn't like being used. She went to the phone, trying to reach her father for a forth time. It had taken everything she had not to be calling him evey five minutes, but Kid was a good reason for her to break that personal vow. Again, the phone went straight to voice mail after only two rings. It was likely because of the storm but Aoko slammed the receiver down hard, blaming it.

She walked back into the room, glaring daggers at thief. It wasn't as if the police would be any easier to reach in this weather. The longer she looked at him, the deeper her frown became. Kid seemed to be having trouble breathing. He was pressed up against the door, but his body was arched forward with he left leg keeping him held up while one arm hung loose in front of his stomach, resting on his thigh as if he were asleep. The shivering she hadn't noticed before would be hard to miss now unless she was blind.

"Hey, are you okay?" Aoko didn't really know why she asked it. She didn't care about his wellbeing, but he was inside her house right now, and she didn't know how else to feel.

Kid didn't answer, and because of the damn hat, Aoko couldn't tell if he was even awake. Without thinking, she bent down next to him, feeling her pants soak up the water gathered in the fibers and wondering how he could stand it. She had to move the hat up a little, seeing his eyes were closed and his face paler than she would have thought, looking sickly while it was shadowed by the brim. Unlike the rest of his body, his forehead was a good deal warmer than her palm.

"Hey you idiot. You better not die in my house."

Kid shook his head, her voice next to his ear waking him. He raised his hand to tip the hat back into position, only to miss and grab too high before trying again and mostly succeeding. She was so close to him that, unless he wanted to be blind, he had to show off one of his eyes, blue and looking at her with such intensity that she had to avert her gaze.

"I'm terribly sorry for- for the interruption." His breathing hadn't slowed down much, and with how pale he looked, Aoko knew he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. I looked like her father would be able to catch him if he got home quickly enough.

But that meant leaving him there on the wet floor, shivering to try and get himself warm. Aoko sighed, knowing she couldn't do something like that to another person. At the very least, Kaito would be mad at her when they had school again if he found out.

Aoko got up, leaving him there.

"Where are you going?"

_What?_ "Well, I'm not going to sit with you on the floor, _Kid_," she spat. "Besides, I have to go get something."

"Right." Kid shook his head drunkly. Aoko turned back, watching him blink the one eye she could see and frown. "Why would- I'm sorry, forgive me... for asking such... a foolish question."

He didn't look well. Aoko grabbed one off the thickest blankets they had out of the hall closet. She brought it over to him, ignoring the fact that it would get sopping wet and she would be the one who would have to wash it.

"Here. That should at least make you feel better. When you do, you'd better get the hell out of my house, or stay while my dad arrests you."

Kid nodded, agreeing to her terms, but there was a fair level of confusion there, as if it was a shock for _him_ to be seeing _her_ in _her_ own house.

"While were at it," Aoko asked in a lower voice. "Was my dad alright when you saw him?"

"The Inspector was... fine." Kid looked like a child, shivering and stuttering under the blanket, far younger than she had thought he would be. But that's just how good he was. Aoko felt better for his words though.

"But that only acc- accounts for the last... that I saw of him." Kid reached into his pocket, pulling out a watch with and ugly green band around it. "That was... over an hour ago."

"It's fine." Aoko stared out the window, watching the swirls of white continue to pound the windows. Her view stretched no more than five to ten feet outside. "He'll stay at the station until the weather calms down."

Kid fixed himself better under the cover, Aoko watched his movements as he often missed the part of blanket, or his costume, that he was trying to move to make himself warmer. Aoko shook her head, knowing that she was being soft on him, but that was only because he looked so young and vulnerable. She went back to the kitchen, getting what was left of her dinner, and brought it to him.

"Here. I couldn't eat it all and it's better than having it go to waste."

Kid gave her the first smile she had seen from him, raising his eyebrow under the hat, though the message was clear.

"I didn't poison it or anything. Not that I would have had time, and not that it's a bad idea." She shoved it at him, not giving Kid any choice in the matter. "Take it, or leave it there. I don't care."

"Thank you." His hands shook as he reached for the plate, Aoko's temper falling back down to a simmer. Though he was shaking, he didn't spill anything, taking the fork she handed him and trying some of the food. She'd made a simple meal, because she wasn't in the mood for anything big, especially if it would be cold by the time her father came home. The chicken and rice was easy and didn't require her to be in the room, so she'd been watching TV before that, turning it off when Kid's heist came on and starting on the homework that she'd been given that day in school, before the storm had kicked up.

"It's good. Make it... yourself?" Kid's words had her facing him from where she'd taken up a spot on the couch, close enough to him to make out the details of his face but far enough away that she'd be able to fight back if he tried to touch her again.

"Yeah, I always make dinner, unless I'm busy." She didn't want to take his compliment. "Why do you care?"

"It was just a question." Kid went back to eating it, going made slow because his shaking would have the food falling off he fork. He'd finished half of it, placing the remainder on the floor. Aoko saw that, though he wasn't anywhere close to normal, his breathing was better and the shaking was hardly noticeable.

"I should leave." Kid got up, taking the blanket with him, at the last second using the door to steady himself.

"If you want to die out there, be my guest. I didn't say you had to go."

"No." Kid smirked, walking over to her with slow steps, either because he couldn't walk any faster, or because he was afraid she might start attacking him again. Aoko was tempted to do just that if he didn't stop grinning at her. It was infuriating. "Here." He handed her the blanket. "Thank you for allowing me time to rest. I should be on my way before your father gets here."

The phone ringing made both of them jump, Kid stumbling backwards like a deer that knew a hunter had it in his sights. Aoko laughed, watching him jump again at her voice. "It's only the phone." She got up to answer it, hearing a soft chuckle follow her into the room. Aoko found herself smiling too, before she scowled, not wanting to enjoy anything that Kid was.

"Hello?" She asked, leaking some anger over the phone line. "Nakamori residence."

"Oh, Aoko-chan. Do you know if the Inspector got home yet?

"No, why?" She recognized the voice as one of the men who worked for her father, but she had never been interested enough to learn their names. They were older and she didn't have much interest in their work when she had her own to deal with. "Isn't he with you?"

"He was, but he was so agitated we couldn't get him to calm down. He said that he wanted to get back home to make sure you were alright. He left... quite a while ago- But don't worry Aoko-chan, maybe he was just held up at the train station."

"Maybe. I'll tell my dad to call you when he gets back." Her words were numb, the fear for her father returning with twice the force it had on her earlier. "Thank you for calling."

"Ah, no, thank you. I'm sorry. It's probably nothing and here I am getting you worried. I'll call again later, Aoko-chan." There was a click as the officer ended the call. Aoko slowly put the receiver back, waiting a few seconds before picking it up again and dialing her father's number. Still, she couldn't get through.

"What's that matter?" Kid's voice made her jump, hitting her side on the cabinet next to the phone as she spun around. She wanted to be mad at him. This was Kid's fault. He should have canceled the heist with how bad the news had been saying the storm was going to be. She wanted to hate him.

But she found herself crying in front of him.

Aoko quickly wiped the tears away, stubbornly making her voice work. "It's nothing. My dad's just stuck at the train station or something."

Kid glanced from her to the phone, monocle blacked out in under the shade of his hat and the other eye sparkling. "How long has it been since you've heard from him?"

Aoko shook her head again. "His phone hasn't been working all day, so it doesn't matter."

Kid tipped his head to the side, either thinking about something or listening for a sound she couldn't hear. He turned back to her with a smile. "Could I trouble you for the use of your phone?"

"Why not?" Aoko moved away from it, not wanting to get close to the man. "It's not like that would be the worst thing I've done tonight."

"There is no wrong in helping someone, and if there is, blame me for being so intrusive." Kid was pressing in the numbers as he spoke to her, turning to face her and looking as pale as his name. "I won't be long."

He cut in again before she had anything to say to that. "Hello?" Kid asked, his voice coming out in a low, strong tone. "I'd like to know if there have been any troubles with the rails tonight."

_He was calling the train station?_ _That's why he wanted the phone? _Aoko smiled, forcing it away in an instant. Kid was too preoccupied with the call to notice.

"Just those? Thank you, I applicate you're help." Kid hung up the receiver, smiling and changing back to the voice she'd heard so often on the television. "It's fine. A few of the routes had to be shut down because there was too much snow on the tracks. The Inspector might be stuck for a while, so they have a chance to clear them."

Aoko nodded, wanting to thank him but not having the power to.

"I'll be on my way then." Kid walked out of the room, his steps even. "I appreciate all that you've done for me, but I have my own home to get to."

"Don't expect me to do it again." Aoko followed him to the door, waiting for him to leave.

"I'll make sure that I don't burden you again." Kid opened it as little as he needed to, snowflakes flying in to engulf the walkway once again. He had the door closed and was gone in seconds, blending so well with the snow that Aoko couldn't see him outside the door for more than a second before he disappeared.

"He's and idiot for going out in this weather." Aoko sat back down, glancing at the blanket that was still resting on the arm of the couch. She'd take care of it later. Aoko took the remote and flipped through the channels, not finding anything good on and not wanting to watch the news. Mindlessly, she settled on on a children's cartoon, to ride out the night.

An hour later, there was a loud banging at the door that made Aoko jump.

She got to her feet quickly, fumbling with the lock on the handle. It was automatic, and she couldn't feel when it was locked from the inside. Kid had made her think that it wasn't, so she hadn't checked.

The wind and snow pushed her back in as the door was shoved open. She shivered, turning away from the blast.

"Dear god it's cold out there," her father panted, arm firmly resting on the door to hold it closed, as if the frigid air would be able to fight its way in. Her father, hair covered in a layer of snow, and his coat and pants dark with moisture, surprised her a little. What really had her thinking that the world had just flipped over on itself was Kid, on his hands and knees, panting as if there weren't enough air in the room.

"Hey," her dad huffed, lightly bumping the thief's leg with his foot. "You okay?"

Kid nodded, continuing to gasp for air, contradicting himself. It didn't even look like he could speak.

"Damn. I've called you crazy in the past, but this is pushing it."

Aoko watched her father knock off a bunch of snow that had gotten caught in the thief's cape, near his neck. The partials touched open skin, but Kid was already shivering so much, she didn't think it really bothered him.

"Aoko." She and her father shared the same worried expression, though she hadn't thought that she would see it from him. Aoko nodded, taking the blanket she had given him earlier and bringing it over.

Kid shook his head, attempting to stand up and making it after a minute, his movement drunk and laborious. "I'm... fine..." Kid spoke around his funny breathing, balance thrown completely off if his swaying was anything to judge by.

"Settle down you bastard. I'm not-" Her father let out a deep breath, his gaze thoughtful. "I'm not going to turn you in tonight."

"Not... part...of-"

"Shut up. Look at you, you can't even talk straight. I wouldn't be able to look myself in the mirror if I turned you in now. After what you did."

Kid shook his head. "I... lied..." He glanced at Aoko. His smile was so open, but it held a sadness there. "Promised... wouldn't... come... back..."

"Who cares?" Her father yelled, making both of them flinch. Kid looked more like a beaten dog than ever, even in his earlier state. He couldn't keep his body still and his breathing sounded awful. It wouldn't surprise her if he came down with pneumonia, the way he was running around. But why was her father there?

"I thought the trains weren't running."

Her father knocked the snow off himself, taking off his coat and shivering as well. "Of course they're not. Not in weather like this. I got on before the storm hit."

"Then why did-? What happened."

Her father looked angry at himself, turning to Kid who was seemed to be waiting for her father to move out of his way so that he could get back out. He grabbed Kid's arm, dragging him over the couch. She watched Kid resist, his numb fingers doing nothing to her father's. Her dad threw the thief roughly into the cushions. Kid was too tired to try and fight back so he laid there, gasping and looking in pretty sorry shape.

"I was on my way here from the train station. Damn busses don't run in this weather and I wouldn't be picking up any strangers if I tired to drive through this nightmare either. To hell if I know what happened after that. Next thing I see, this idiot is in my face and we're in some dark building."

"Too... cold... to... stay..." Kid rasped out, eyes closing as he curled in on himself on the couch. Her father nodded, looking guilty.

"He said we had to move, and I could have gone down any house until they let me in, but I knew you were here alone, so I wanted to make it back. I didn't think it would be that far, but with weather like this..." Her father looked out the window, shaking his head. "It felt like a hell of a lot longer."

Aoko took the blanket and put it over the thief. He didn't seem to noticed and that had her worried. Right at that moment though, she went over to her father and hugged him, glad he was safe.

"You should have just stayed there, Dad. Aren't you always telling me not to do stupid things. I think going out in this weather counts as stupid."

"I couldn't get a hold of you. Phone service was going in and out all day, and I damn well wasn't going to stay there when I didn't know if you were alright. I didn't expect him to find me."

They both stared at the thief. He seemed to be unconscious, but Aoko couldn't be sure. She put her hand to his head again, seeing an angry red mark across his face when she lifted the hat. She'd even drawn blood near his eye. Shaking it off, Aoko felt his forehead, hotter than it had been. "What should we do?"

"I can't turn him in like this. He may be a damned fool and good for nothing criminal that deserves to be behind bars, but-" Her father watched the wind whip around the snow. "I don't know what would have happened if he hadn't found me."

"So, what are we supposed to do?" They watched Kid's chest rise and fall too fast, the thief still shaking even though her father's was almost gone.

"We go upstairs and pretend this never happened. If he's not gone when I wake up, I'll take him to a hospital and arrest him whether I want to or not. That will give him a chance, and that's more than I should be offering." Her father walked up the stairs, eyes tired and conflicting.

Aoko stood there, not following her father. This man, as often as she found herself hating what he was doing, had comforted her when she was worried- saved her father's life. She'd slapped him. Sure the food and the shelter had to count for something, but the price of them wasn't anywhere equal what he was owe. Kid was sick. The weather was harder on him than her father, and he'd willingly gone into it the second time to recuse him when he didn't even know for certain if her father was in danger. Kid's outfit didn't look like it was built for the winter, and why should it? It rarely ever snowed at all.

Aoko curled herself up on the couch next to him, keeping as far away as possible. Kid had fallen asleep in an awkward position, head tipped forward on an angle and bearly sitting on the couch.

Aoko got up, wondering what she was doing. Kid's back wasn't supported by anything, so it was easy to get her hand under it, though she had more trouble finding his legs because of the thick blanket. It was a struggle, but she moved him so he was laying down normally on the couch, his body still shaking under her touch. Aoko sat down on the floor, arms prop up near his feet so that she'd have some comfort. It wasn't as hard as she thought to fall asleep after all the anxiety she'd been feeling towards both Kid and her father's whereabouts. The night outside was bright, snow making it hard to think of as nighttime as the flakes lit up the sky with a light of their own.

...

The morning wasn't as easy to mark from the night as it should have been. Aoko blinked her eyes, looking at the digital clock they kept above the TV. It told her it was a little before ten. Outside looked maybe the smallest bit lighter, but the thick rolling clouds blocked out the sun.

It seemed as if no time had passed between when she fell asleep and when she woke up, though she felt much more rested. Looking at the stairs, she went over to Kid and shook his shoulder.

"Hey, you have to wake up."

Kid's face was flushed and burning to the touch. Aoko felt the same searing fever around him that he'd had last night. The rest didn't seem to have helped. Kid couched, his throat sounding dry. She didn't know how ill he was, but it would have to wait until he made it to his own house. Her father meant his words last night, so she'd stayed down there, making sure to wake Kid up.

"Please, you have to get up. Come on, Kid, I thought you were stronger than this," she hissed, trying to get some reaction out of him without waking her dad.

"Hhhmmm?" Kid blinked his eyes open, looking through her.

"Come on. If you don't leave before my dad wakes up, he's going to arrest you."

That worked. Kid blinked his eyes repeatedly until he had his vision back, a hand coming to his forehead as he sat up, swaying.

"I'm sorry. I know you don't feel good, but there's nothing else I can do." Aoko thought about it. "Unless you want me to help you home."

Kid laughed, coughing at the end. "Of course not." At least his voice came out sounding fine, his eyes moving, most likely marking all the exits. "I must ask your apologies. I lied to you twice in one evening, and I hadn't intended to."

"Quiet telling me you're sorry and get out of here, you idiot!" She whispered fiercely, Kid's words silent compared to hers.

"No. It was very wrong of me to do so. I couldn't leave without apologizing." Kid got up, legs unsteady with fever. "I'd also like to thank you for taking me in when you could have- should have, shoved me out."

"Anyone would have done it." Aoko frowned. "Why _did_ you come _here_?"

Kid shook his head, grinning, and swaying slightly from the movement. "I'm not sure myself. I wasn't thinking rationally last night and your address was one I knew from watching your father."

"Don't let it happen again," Aoko said halfheartedly. Kid wasn't as bad as she thought he was, but the chances of them meeting a second time were slim.

"I apologize again to you then, Nakamori-chan." Kid turned away from her, tipped his hat forward as far as it would go. "I didn't intend to cause you and your father so much grief. In the future, I will retain from forcing your hands- as unintentional as it was."

Kid opened the door, his damp clothes looking unwrinkled through their ordeal. Kid smiled, gazing out at the white landscape before him, untouched by human hands. The snow had stopped falling through the night, so there was nothing to block his vision. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Aoko wasn't sure whether he had intend to speak his feelings aloud or not, because a frown flashed across his face. She walked towards the door, looking out.

"No, it's not beautiful. It's just cold." She put her hands tighter around herself.

"And you're not one to like cold things." Kid said it as if he were referring to something that she couldn't fathom. Aoko looked out again, seeing over a good foot of snow that had made it's way all the way up to her door. The houses across the street looked warm and cozy in comparison.

"I suppose it's not all that bad. It's like the night, there to show you the stars. The snow is there to show you the comforts."

Kid laughed, softly at first before he was forced to stifle it or get her father's attention.

"What's so funny?" Aoko asked defensively.

"Nothing, Nakamori-chan. I'd never heard anyone describe the snow in such a way before. Don't take offense. I like your perspective."

"If that was supposed to be a compliment, it didn't sound like one."

"Oh, it was. I'm afraid my own view on the snow isn't as brilliantly inspired as yours." Kid leaned against the doorframe, making no move to leave just yet. The chilly air was coming in, but the wind had stopped, so it wasn't that bad. "You see, as beautiful as it makes the scenery, cars and trucks will stain it and ugly color, often making me wish it had never fallen in the first place. To turn such an ugly sludge hue..." Kid laughed quietly. "But all snow does, just as flowers lose their beauty and die before they have lived more than a week." Kid played with something in his pocket, shaking his head before giving up on whatever it was he was prepared to do. Aoko frowned at him.

"I thought you said you liked the snow."

"I do. For now." Kid's uncovered eye was glassy, staring out at the landscape. "Even now though, the snow is melting. Unlike in nature, people will trample in into the mud and make it into slush until they no longer wish to see it. Funny that the reason children stop playing in the snow is because of their own actions."

"The snow almost took my father away."

Kid's pricing eyes were on her and Aoko almost felt as if they were hurting her. There was such an intensity in them, that being near Kid was hard. She found herself backing away.

"I'm sorry. Here I am telling you how wonderful I find the image, and you were thinking on what the snow could have done in order to make such a scene. I wasn't thinking." Kid shook his head, staring back at the snow with contempt. "I shouldn't have needed to hear you say that to realize it either."

"No, it's fine." Aoko tried to amend the uncomfortable position Kid was put in after her words. "That was the storm. I know you were speaking of snow in general."

"Still, I should have understood it. I'm like you, only with warmth." Kid debated with himself about telling her something, and that alone, made her interested.

"What?'

Kid tipped his head, giving her a gentle smile that wasn't anything like his grin. "I dislike warmth as you dislike the cold. Anything too hot bothers me, especially fire." Kid turned away from her, leaning his head back against the frame of the house. He looked so young. "The snow, though, I've always been able to appreciate. The wind was the reason it because so intimidating last night. Snow, itself, isn't harmful unless you stay out in it for too long." Kid took a few steps out. Aoko thought he was going to leave and wanted to drag him back, confused about their conversation. She knew there was no way she could hate the Kid again. Like the rest of the female population, she'd fallen for his charms. She could tell herself she hated him for being such a good actor, or for making her like the rest of his fan-girls, but unlike them, she could see his kindness was real. Knew it from his actions last night.

Kid bent down outside her walkway, snow up to his ankles. It didn't seem to bother him. Aoko slipped on her shoes to follow him, grabbing a jacket off the rack. Kid smiled at her when she stopped next to where he was bending down.

Kid stood up, running a gloved hand through the snow and using the other one to take her hand in his. Aoko almost blushed, shivering instead when he sprinkled some of the snow in her open palm. "Just like fire though, snow hurts to touch. Nakamori-chan, I need you to know something." Kid looked as if he were being hurt. Aoko frowned all the more, watching his eyes keep the feeling even as he smiled. "It's something that I've been wanting to tell your father as well, though I never seem to catch him in a tame enough mood to explain."

"Explain what?" Aoko didn't look way, even after Kid stared down at the snow in his hands.

"You're father should stop trying to catch me. I don't mind it," Kid quickly spoke up when Aoko tried to pull away from him. "I'm not... I'm not worried about being arrested. If I was, I would never have stayed her last night. You're father's in more danger than he realizes, and I need him to be aware of it." Kid smiled at her, but it was different then all the others. There was a deep rooted sadness there, and longing. "What do you think happens when you catch a snowflake?"

"It melts..." Aoko said quietly. Kid's smile turned closer to the one she'd seen before, but it was different. He let go of her hand, tossing the remaining snow to make little craters in the ground where it landed, shoving both hands in his pocket.

"I wanted you to warn him to be carful. I'm sorry for prattling on about nothing. Must be the fever."

Kid never looked back, white falling into white, and strolled down the street as if he didn't have a care in the world. But that wasn't true. Something was wrong, and Aoko was missing it. She'd tell her father and, for her part, she'd stay away from Kid. Because Kid was too nice. Kid was the kind of person who would risk his life to make sure that she had her father in the morning. Kid, no matter who he was under the bit of glass and white suit, was not the bad guy she'd made him out to be - the world had made him out to be - he had made himself out to be. Whatever his reason, Aoko knew that she couldn't let herself show him affection. She had to make sure her father was prepared for whatever danger it was that Kid had warned her of.

Because, looking at him as he walked away, Kid was only one man. It had to be hard, and it had to hurt, and whatever he was doing, it had to be important enough to risk everything for. To put up with ignorant people, which she knew she'd been apart of, and to put up with danger that she couldn't see - Aoko, for once, was afraid _for_ him.

She clutched her hand where the snow that he had placed there had long since melted away. The snow around her was just as cold as it had been earlier, but looking at it now made her sad. She hoped, for whoever the man was that clocked himself in the color of snow, that he could let that melt away too.

She ran. Aoko didn't know why, she wasn't dressed for the weather, but she ran. Kid's footprints were clear in the snow. She briefly wondered why he hadn't tried to hide them. After a few corners, feet soaking wet as the snow snuck inside her shoes, she caught up to him.

Kid turned around slowly. Before she knew what she was doing, Aoko stuck her bare hands in the snow, gritting her teeth as she packed to together and threw it at him. The snowball hit his shoulder, breaking apart and sprinkling onto his face. Kid's eyes were wide in shock, though none of his other features expressed it.

"You're not like the snow!" She shouted. "Because snow never falls alone! Don't you dare die!"

Aoko huffed, trying to catch her breath as Kid stared at her. She wasn't cold. It felt like there was fire running through her veins. If he wanted to be the snow, she'd be the flame. Only they could hurt one another.

"I never expected you to chase me." Kid laughed, making Aoko frown with how familiar it sounded. "Then again, you always do what I least expect."

"This is the first time we've met," Aoko said quietly. Kid continued to smile.

"Is it?"

"Who are you?"

"I can't say." Kid started to walk away. "It would do you no good to know who I am."

Aoko chased him, grabbing for his cape. Kid caught on at the last second and pulled away, his footing unstable in the deep snow.

"I want to know."

Aoko jumped for him again and Kid took off. She followed, knowing her shorter legs would make it hard to catch up. No one had caught the thief before, but she wasn't going to stop. If she had to follow his footprints until they led her to him, she would.

He grew farther and farther away with each block, but Kid was the one having to make a path in the snow, so Aoko was able to keep close to him. She was out of breath and the air was quickly singing her lungs, but she wasn't going to give up.

Ten minutes of this didn't sound like much, but in the cold air, it was. Aoko was coughing more than she was breathing. Kid wasn't far ahead, though his image would mix with the snow at times and make her think she'd lost him.

Kid dropped out of her view at one point. As she drew closer, she saw he'd fallen into the snow.

"Tsh. Cold." Kid glared at her, trying to brush out the snow where it had snuck into his cuffs. "Do you really want to know that badly?" He panted, obvious anger in his eyes that Aoko hadn't seen before.

"Yes," she said, as equally out of breath. "And I'd like to add that you're an idiot for running... when you have a fever."

"What else was I supposed... to do?" Kid brushed off the rest of the snow as he got to his feet. "Shoot, it fell off." He tipped his hat forward and searched the ground. After a minute he sighed, getting into the snow and more than likely freezing himself until he found his monocle. "Go home" he told her sternly, placing it in his pocket as the metal would have burned against his skin.

"No." Aoko stood her ground. "It was great you told me there was danger and all, but that means you're in danger as well. If it's not the police, than it's someone else. If you die... I'd at least like to know who you are, as a person." Aoko stopped, trying to make him understand. "You're not... bad. I don't think a lot of people know that. I'd bet it's lonely."

Kid walked up to her, bending down to brush the snow off of her pants where it had been kicked up in their chase. He stood again, slowly. "Not as lonely as you seem to think it is. Please. I'd rather not have you in danger."

"I need to tell you something else" she whispered, so Kid had to strain himself to hear. "You shouldn't have let me get so close to you."

Aoko grabbed his shirt before he could pull away from her. She wasn't going to fight him, because she knew she would lose, so she sprinted off as quickly as she could and threw him backwards into the snow.

Kid got up sputtering, trying to brush the flakes out of his collar. Aoko was sitting on his lap, which was embarrassing but kept him pinned down. The snow seeped through her pants, numbing her legs. She felt bad for tossing him into it again when he was sick, but she needed her answer.

Kid tried to push her off of him, rolling snow over both of them, but she didn't let go. Everything was white and cold for a while before Kid gave up trying to escape.

"Come on, Aoko, that's not fair." Kid's hat was knocked off in the struggle and white frosts had fallen into his brown hair. Aoko couldn't breath for a moment, watching Kid... the thief... her best friend... Kaito... the person who had compared himself to the snow, as he avoided her eyes and let himself fall back into the frozen rain.

"You're not... lying to me are you?"

"How could I?" Kid said, his voice now identical to Kaito's. "You've been holding me this whole time. If you'd given me a chance to get inside my coat, maybe I could have pulled something off."

The mark from where she'd hit him was still there. She ran a hand up the side of his face as Kid looked away again, eyes full of pain as her fingers traveled through his hair, melting the snow that had fallen in the thin strands.

"Kaito..."

In a moment she was shoved off, arm falling out to catch her as the snow burned her skin. Kid- Kaito took a moment to get to his feet before running. Aoko jumped up, just snagging the back of his cape before he could get anywhere. There was a brief flash of blue eyes before his shoulders slumped forward.

"What now?" Kaito's voice asked her. She was still in shock from it all. Kaito wasn't Kid... Not that she couldn't see him being a thief, but he wasn't... what? A nice person? Willing to save her father? What was so hard to believe about it?

"Now" Aoko spoke quietly, feeling tears running down her face as she let the cape go. "I don't know."

"I'm sorry." Kaito shook his head, snow staying in place to make him look like an angel. "I didn't want you to find out."

"So you could keep on hiding it? So that when you died, it would hit me all the harder because you wanted to run around playing superhero?"

"It's not like that." Kaito was half-turned towards her, his eyes closed. "It was never like that. And before you ask, you'll never get me to tell you why. You're advantages to me being sick won't work on me spilling what's left of my secrets."

"I wasn't trying to take advantage of you."

"What? You thought I could get away from you when I can't keep the world from spinning around me?" Kaito put a hand to his head, his eyes closer to closed than open. "I think that would be called taking advantage of a situation."

"Then it's a good thing I did, because you never would have told me, would you? You _lied _to me!"

"Only when it couldn't be helped. I won't ask for your forgiveness this time though."

"You don't have to!" Aoko grabbed him, feeling him draw back from her and knowing that she was still crying. "You already have it!"

"What?" Kaito was hesitant to touch her, but when Aoko noticed the hesitation it only made her cry harder, so he wrapped his hands timidly across her back. "I didn't want you to be put in danger, Aoko. You can't tell anyone. Please."

"I won't." Aoko shook her head into Kid's- Kaito's white coat. "But you have to tell me when this is all over. Tell me when you're safe. I'll be worrying about you all the time, so make sure you call me when you can't come to school."

"I will." She felt a hand run through her hair, his warm breath falling near her ear. She was worried, and scared, and a bunch of other things she couldn't describe. Kaito was her snow - She, his heat. They would never be wanting of anything.

But whether he wanted her too or not, Aoko was going to get her answers.


End file.
